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Saturday, March 10, 2012

7 Days

Reason #7: Living in only the best. We've both had to purge many of our personal items and keep only the best, or what we think the best. Of course, books are always the best, so they make the cut for the most part, but many of our other personal items have not. Gabe stares in horror as I throw everything away, and when I start in on his items panic mode really grabs him. I feel this to be absolutely unreasonable, though I will also admit to being very hard.

Here is my story of purging with Gabe, or at least one of the many stories that have cropped up throughout this experience:

While in the condo we decided not to move the desk back into the nook until all items in the drawers had been sorted and only the required items remained. While sorting through a drawer (an act which, in and of itself, causes Gabe anxiety attacks--you can tell by the narrow pinch of his mouth and the incessant pacing), I came across a vinyl record: Tony Basil's "Mickey."

Having never seen the 45 before, knowing my husband doesn't have a vinyl collection or a record player, and seeing the pounds of dust and dirt on the cover, I decided this item was not good enough to make the cut and tossed it in the recycle pile.

Adorable Husband

You would have thought I kicked one of our dogs by the shock, hurt, and outrage that poured from my beloved. The excuses came fast and furious.

Excuse #1:
"You can't just throw that away! This is important!"
I am, despite my urge to purge, a reasonable person. I would never ask Gabe to give away an item with the slightest sentimental value. When questioned about its importance, though, Gabe confessed he has never seen the record in his life.

Excuse #2:
"It's not mine. It must be my brother's! I don't know if he wants to keep it or not! I can't just throw it away!"
With only the briefest questioning, I discovered the 45 had been in the drawer for a minimum of four years. This is no beloved object.

Excuse #3:
"It could be a collector's item!"
Um, no. A bit of research shows that's certainly not the case.

The excuses went on, with increasingly hysteria, but in summary here is what was learned about Tony Basil's Mickey 45:

1) He doesn't know why it was in the desk.
2) He says it is not his.
3) He has no intention of listening to the record (it's a single 45).
4) He doesn't like the song.
5) Even if he wanted to listen to it and liked the song, he doesn't own a record player.
6) The 45 had been in his drawer for more than four years....

The whole experience was so overwhelming he asked me to put the drawer down and step away from the mess of desk in the living room.

Where is that 45 now? According to Gabe it's in the new desk. I've told him if I see it again, I'm going to throw it away. He laughed and agreed that would probably be appropriate.

On that note, back to reason #7, and how we (in theory) keep only what is best and necessary in our home. Looking to our future, we are also now more conscious of what we bring into our lives in the way of material goods (books are the exception and I readily admit I should probably cut back...but also know I won't). I think this will lead to healthier living, and a more sincere connection with each other and ourselves.

Figure yourself out. What do you really want?

Does being an adult mean I can spend $667 on a bed frame and not feel a twinge of that-money-should-have-gone-to-pay-off-debt-or-cushion-us? Ah, there's that oh-so-familiar twinge, so nope. Not yet. We've been been talking about getting a head- and footboard frame for a while now, and we found the exact one we want not long ago. The bed seems quite popular and is always going out-of-stock. It is, of course, back in stock now and at a cheaper price...thus the $667.

The question here is not whether we have the cash, because (thanks to the wedding fund) we do. And it's proper cash, not credit. The question is rather whether this is a good use of said money...and I'm afraid the purchase looks superfluous no matter which way I look at it.